What Jack Draper did which stunned the Madrid crowd and Lorenzo Musetti in his semi-final win, ‘I could not believe what I was seeing’

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Jack Draper continued his unbeaten record against Lorezno Musetti with an excellent performance at the Madrid Open.

The Brit booked his spot in his second Masters 1000 final of the season with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over the Italian.

The 23-year-old had yet to make an impression on clay but he has shown how devastating he can be on the surface at the Madrid Open.

Jack Draper is already going to leave the Spanish capital as the new World number five whether he wins the title or not, but he will do everything in his power to emerge victorious on Sunday.

Jack Draper left the Madrid crowd and commentator Colin Fleming ‘stunned’

Draper fired 19 winners and 19 unforced errors, and the World number five claimed 78% of the points behind his first serve in Madrid.

His powerful and consistent game from the baseline proved too much for Musetti to handle in the Masters 1000 semi-final.

Draper needed just one hour and 57 minutes to claim victory and his performance stunned the crowd, as well as Sky Sports commentator Colin Fleming.

“I am almost lost for words by how impressed I was with that win,” Fleming said. “That is one of the elite clay courters in the world and there’s Jack Draper, from Great Britain, in a semi final in Madrid, in an absolute battle. Digging deep and finding the guts.

“I really thought he composed himself at the start of the tie break and went this is it now and he took it back up to where he was in the first set with the ball speed and the attacking intent. That is one of the best tiebreaks I have seen from someone I thought was starting to struggle. Incredible.

“He showed layers to his game, I love the way he brought the serve volley in. The wide serve volley. He didn’t lose a point with that because he almost saved it up.

“When he was full of energy in the first set it was big booming aces, it was forehand winners from the back of the court. The forehand, the crowd could not believe what they were seeing.

“I could not believe what I was seeing! Musetti couldn’t! They were cleaning the line and flying past him. It was just incredible.”

Jack Draper to face Casper Ruud in Madrid Open final

If Draper wants to win the Madrid Open he has to defeat Casper Ruud, one of the best clay court players in the game.

The 26-year-old has won 11 titles on the clay and he reached the French Open final on two occasions, losing to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic respectively.

Ruud defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-5 to reach the final, and like Draper he has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Draper and Ruud will play one another for the first time in Sunday’s final, and the 2024 US Open semi-finalist knows it will be a tough test.

“Casper is a two-time Roland Garros finalist and very accustomed to the clay,” Draper said of his next opponent. “He is always tough to beat so it will be a challenge for me – but I’m ready for it.”